After protests from demonstrators in Puerto Rico, who filled the streets in Old San Juan for days, Gov. Ricardo Rossello will be removed from office. However, these protests made several cruise ships to cancel their calls at the island, leading to an economic loss of $2.5 million.
As the head of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), Carla Campos, informed, the companies MSC and Royal Caribbean cancelled the transit stops of the cruises ‘MSC Seaside’ and ‘Celebrity Equinox’, on July 22, when a national strike was announced.
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Both cruises were scheduled to arrive in the afternoon and leave San Juan at 10:00 pm and 1:00 am, respectively. Cruise lines cancelled those stops since local companies that have agreements to provide excursion services cancelled the majority of the scheduled excursions. What is more, the lines are concerned about the demonstrations in Old San Juan.
Of course this situation of cruise ships cancelling their calls had an economic impact, which could be estimated at around $2.5 million due to the expenditure of approximately 15,000 passengers.
However, Carla Campos, convened to coordinate the logistics of operations in the port of San Juan of some cruise ships, which maintain their homeport departures.
“These cruises will unpack some 7,000 passengers who will arrive from a week of crossing and continue to their final destination, either on the Island or by air. Meanwhile, a similar number of cruise passengers will board them to begin the corresponding route. This will generate an economic impact of $ 1.3 million
Moreover, CTPR has offered numerous alternatives to cruise lines in an attempt to reach the Island. For example, the Pan American Dock has been presented as an alternative to cruise lines. The depth of the pier extends to about 32 feet. Large ships that dock at docks 3 and 4 require around 34 feet deep due to their draft. Therefore, the alternative is not viable for some of the vessels that have experienced cancellations.
As of now, no cancellations have been reported for scheduled traffic stops, with CTPR keeping constant contact with the lines evaluating case by case and trying to protect all aspects regarding the visitor’s experience.